According to an analysis, significantly less electricity was generated from fossil fuels in the EU in the first half of 2023 than in the same period of the previous year.
According to research by think tank Ember, the use of fossil fuels such as natural gas and coal fell by 17 percent in the first half of the year compared to the first half of 2022. Between January and June, the share of fossil fuels in the electricity mix in the EU was 33 percent.
In the first half of the year, coal-fired power generation in the EU fell by 23 percent compared to the previous year, and gas production by 13 percent. In the case of power generation from solar energy, an increase of 13 percent was recorded compared to the same period last year. Wind power generation rose 4.8 percent, the report shows.
Fossil fuel decline across Europe
According to the authors, the reason for the development is a drop in demand by 4.6 percent – attributed to persistently high gas and electricity prices, lower industrial production and a series of measures to reduce consumption in winter.
“The decline in fossil fuels is a sign of the times,” said author Matt Ewen. “But we need to see clean energy replacing fossil fuels faster. A massive push, particularly in solar and wind power, is urgently needed to support a resilient economy across Europe.”
The decline in fossil fuels in the first half of the year was seen across Europe, with 11 countries seeing a drop of at least 20 percent and five countries – Portugal, Austria, Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland – seeing a drop of more than 30 percent.
